Patents by Inventor Wilfried Merkel

Wilfried Merkel has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6564420
    Abstract: The invention is a wiper arm (20) for securement to a drive shaft (10,12). The wiper arm (20) has a securing part (18), which on one end has a bearing point (16) by way of which the wiper arm can be connected, in a manner fixed against relative rotation, to the drive shaft (10, 12) via a nut (14). The nut can be screwed onto the drive shaft (10,12). The nut is formed by a component integrally cast onto the securing part (18) and is connected to the securing part (18) via a binding (26) that can be released upon installation of the wiper arm (20).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2003
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Roger Daenen
  • Patent number: 6516491
    Abstract: A wiper blade (10) is proposed that serves to clean windows of motor vehicles. The wiper blade has an elongated, rubber-elastic wiper strip (14) which is provided on its two long sides with respective facing longitudinal grooves (38, 40), in each of which one spring rail (30, 32), protruding intermittently from the grooves by one longitudinal edge (42, 44), is disposed; the spring rails belong to an elongated, spring-elastic support element (12) for the wiper strip (14), on whose middle portion a connection device (16) for a wiper arm (18) guided on the vehicle body is disposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Thomas Kotlarski
  • Patent number: 6505377
    Abstract: A wiper arm of a windshield wiper has a driven fastening part which is pivotably connected to a joint part, the joint part is rigidly joined by a wiper rod (18, 62), at least one of the parts of the wiper arm is shaped from sheet metal, at least one of the parts formed from sheet metal has at least one region with a plurality of material layers folded up onto one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2003
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Peter De Block, Roger Daenen
  • Publication number: 20030005541
    Abstract: The invention is based on a link element (10) for windshield wipers, which is adjoined by a wiper rod (28) and is manufactured out of a metal sheet (16) by means of stamping and bending, in which, starting from a longitudinally aligned covering wall (40), at least one wall part of a side wall (38, 42) is comprised of a number of sheet metal layers produced by being bent inward by 180°, and a hanging device (32, 52, 54; 60; 58, 64) for a tension spring is fastened to the innermost sheet metal layer and protrudes into a free space (30) between the side walls (38, 40).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2002
    Publication date: January 9, 2003
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Roger Daenen
  • Patent number: 6454184
    Abstract: A spray nozzle (10) for a window or glass washing system has a nozzle element (24) in which at least part of a flow conduit (36) is firmed by an elastic hoselike part (26, 28, 30), which closes the flow conduit (36) and under the influence of a washing fluid pressure, widens elastically:and uncovers the conduit (36). The hoselike part (26, 28, 30), with its flow conduit (36), rests tightly in the pressureless state, with an initial tension, on a mandrel (18, 20, 22, 54, 56).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Roger Daenen
  • Publication number: 20020000018
    Abstract: A wiper blade for wiping windows of motor vehicles has an elongated rubber-elastic wiper strip placeable on a window to be wiped and arranged substantially longitudinally axially parallel on a surface of a strip-shaped, spring-elastic support element which is connected with a wiper arm which is spring loaded toward the window and driven transversely to a longitudinal extension of the wiper blade, and a leading-edge face extending longitudinally of the wiper blade and substantially parallel to the window and facing into a wind so as to form an acute angle with the window.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2001
    Publication date: January 3, 2002
    Inventors: Thomas Kotlarski, Wilfried Merkel, Wolfgang Leutsch, Thomas Schimidt
  • Patent number: 6308373
    Abstract: A wiper blade is proposed, which is used to clean motor vehicle windows. The wiper blade has an elastic, elongated load bearing element for an elongated wiper strip, made of a flexible material, that can be pressed against the window to be washed, which strip, on its long sides, has longitudinal grooves facing one another, in which spaced-apart longitudinal rails of the load bearing element are located, whose middle portion has a connection device for a driven wiper arm, and the cross section of the two longitudinal rails decreases from its middle region out toward the ends of the rails. A wiper blade that is especially easy to mount is obtained if the load bearing element takes the form of a hairpin, the two legs of which form the longitudinal rails, and the free ends of the two longitudinal rails are held together, in particular being joined together, by stabilizing means embodied as a separate component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2001
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Thomas Kotlarski
  • Patent number: 6305066
    Abstract: A support element for a wiper strip belonging to a wiper blade for motor vehicle windows is proposed, which assures proper contact of a wiper strip, belonging to the wiper blade, with the window to be wiped. The support element is embodied as elongated in bandlike fashion, and it comprises an elastic plastic. The rubber-elastic wiper strip, elongated in bandlike fashion, can be secured to the support element longitudinally axially parallel. An especially durably operationally reliable support element is obtained if the support element is made from a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic plastic, and the fibers are admixed with the plastic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Albano De Paoli, Bernhard Just, Wilfried Merkel, Thomas Schmidt, Thomas Kotlarski, Rolf Bald, Juergen Reiss
  • Patent number: 6295690
    Abstract: A wiper blade (10) is proposed that serves to clean windows of motor vehicles. The wiper blade has an elongated, rubber-elastic wiper strip (14) which is provided on its two long sides with respective facing longitudinal grooves (38, 40), in each of which one spring rail (30, 32), protruding intermittently from the grooves by one longitudinal edge (42, 44), is disposed; the spring rails belong to an elongated, spring-elastic support element (12) for the wiper strip (14), on whose middle portion a connection device (16) for a wiper arm (18) guided on the vehicle body is disposed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2001
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Thomas Kotlarski
  • Patent number: 6292974
    Abstract: A wiper blade (10) is proposed that serves to clean windows of motor vehicles. The wiper blade has an elongated, rubber-elastic wiper strip (14) which can be placed against the window to be wiped and is disposed substantially longitudinally axially parallel to one face, that is, the face oriented toward the window, of a striplike, spring-elastic support element (12), which is connected to a wiper arm (18) that is driven crosswise to the length of the wiper blade and can be urged toward the window. Even at high vehicle speeds, a requisite wiper blade contact pressure for attaining a swept field clean enough to meet legal requirements is achieved if the wiper blade (10) is provided with a leading-edge face (36 or 60), which extends longitudinally of the wiper blade and substantially parallel to the window and faces into the wind (arrow 38), and which crosswise to its length forms an acute angle with the window.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2001
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Wolfgang Leutsch, Thomas Kotlarski
  • Publication number: 20010008034
    Abstract: A wiper blade (10) is proposed that serves to clean windows of motor vehicles. The wiper blade has an elongated, rubber-elastic wiper strip (14) which is provided on its two long sides with respective facing longitudinal grooves (38, 40), in each of which one spring rail (30, 32), protruding intermittently from the grooves by one longitudinal edge (42, 44), is disposed; the spring rails belong to an elongated, spring-elastic support element (12) for the wiper strip (14), on whose middle portion a connection device (16) for a wiper arm (18) guided on the vehicle body is disposed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2001
    Publication date: July 19, 2001
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Thomas Kotlarski
  • Patent number: 6161248
    Abstract: A proposed wiper blade serves to clean the windshields of motor vehicles. The wiper blade (10) has an elongated rubber-elastic wiping strip which can be placed in contact against the windshield to be wiped and which is held substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis at an elongated, springing-elastic carrying element (12). A connection device (16) for complementing connection means of a driven wiper arm (18) which are loaded toward the windshield is arranged at the center portion of the carrying element (12). The connection device has two stop surfaces (36) which are located at a distance from one another, extend transverse to the driving direction, are parallel to one another and oriented in planes extending vertical to the windshield, and cooperate with counter-stops of the wiper arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2000
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Thomas Kotlarski, Juergen Reiss
  • Patent number: 6112365
    Abstract: A wiper blade for cleaning window glass of motor vehicles, comprising an elongated support frame provided with retaining claws, an elongated wiper strip composed of an elastic material and having a head strip grasped by the retaining claws, the head strip being provided with a longitudinal channel which is closed around and opens at end faces of the wiper strip, a spring rail located in the longitudinal channel and fixed against longitudinal shifting, a retaining unit fixing the spring rail against the longitudinal shifting, a unit mounted on the wiper strip so as to cooperate with the frame part and to secure the wiper strip in captive fashion on the support frame, the spring rail being retained by a positive engagement in the longitudinal channel, the securing unit being firmly connected to the wiper strip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2000
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Jurgen Ullrich, Wilfried Merkel, Gerd Kuehbauch, Karlheinz Lorenz, Josef Berger, Michael Schulze, Norbert Wegner, Jurgen Mayer
  • Patent number: 5970569
    Abstract: A wiper blade is proposed which is used for cleaning windshields of motor vehicles. The wiper blade has an elastic, elongated support element for an elongated wiper strip, made of flexible material, placed against the windshield to be wiped, which has on its longitudinal sides longitudinal grooves facing each other, in which runners, which are arranged at a distance from each other, of the support element are positioned, whose center section has a connecting device for a powered wiper arm, and wherein the cross section of the two longitudinal runners diminishes from their center area toward the end of the runners, wherein the two adjoining ends of the longitudinal runners are each connected in a single piece by means of a cross brace. A particularly process-oriented and assembly-friendly wiper blade results, if the longitudinal runners of the support element have an even thickness over their entire longitudinal extension and the width of the support element from its center area is reduced toward its two ends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Thomas Kotlarski
  • Patent number: 5819361
    Abstract: A wiper blade is proposed which is a part of windshield wiper systems of motor vehicles and is used for cleaning windshields of motor vehicles. The wiper blade has a multi-link elongated support bow system for a wiper strip resting against the windshield and has at least one upper support bow, on whose at least one end a lower support bow is hinged by means of a hinge bolt disposed transversely to the long extension of the support bow, wherein the upper bow of a U-shaped cross section in the area of the hinged connection extends with its U-shaped legs over a section of the lower bow of a U-shaped cross section in such a way, that the U-shaped legs of the two support bows essentially lie parallel with each other. The hinge bolt fittingly projects through the U-shaped legs in openings which are coaxial in respect to each other and the hinge bolt is provided with means for securing it against axial displacement in its center area located between the U-shaped legs of the lower bow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 13, 1998
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Jurgen Mayer, Eric Pollaris
  • Patent number: 5766771
    Abstract: A method of producing a layer which is friction-reducing on an elastomeric substrate includes (a) providing an elastomeric substrate; (b) forming a sol by hydrolysis and condensation of at least one silane having a formula :R.sup.1 Si (OR').sub.3 (I)where R.sup.1 is one of a glycidyloxy-functional residue or a mercapto-functional residue and R' is a residue of a lower alkyl group having 1-4 carbon atoms; (c) coating the elastomeric substrate with the sol to form a coating; and (d) curing the coating to form a gel. The method is particularly suited for the coating of rubber surfaces, e.g., wiper blades.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1998
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Wolfgang Leutsch, Volker Gerhard, Frank Gross, Helmut Schmidt
  • Patent number: 5412834
    Abstract: A windshield wiper blade comprises a composite supporting bracket frame pivotally connected with a driven wiper arm and including a plurality of frame components, at least some of the components being provided with holding claws, and elongated wiper strip composed of an elastic material and guided in the holding claws, the wiper strip having a strip back which is engaged by the holding claws and has end portions extending outwardly beyond the claws and a longitudinal opening, the wiper strip having a longitudinal wiper lip adapted to abut against a windshield to be wiped and an elastic reinforcing rail received in the longitudinal opening of the strip back and having a length substantially corresponding to a length of the wiper strip, the longitudinal opening of the strip back being formed as a circularly closed throughgoing passage with a cross-section corresponding to the cross-section of the reinforcing rail, the reinforcing rail having at least one longitudinal side provided with two expansions which are
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 9, 1995
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Hermann Burkard, Wolfgang Leutsch, Wilfried Merkel, Martin Schaeck
  • Patent number: 4649590
    Abstract: In a windshield wiper, which includes a wiper arm carrying a wiper blade and driven by a wiper shaft to oscillate against a windshield pane being wiped, a lever mechanism is provided, which imparts to the wiper arm additionally a straight-line shifting movement in the direction of elongation of the wiper arm. The lever mechanism includes two four-joint guides, each of which includes two rocking levers positioned at two sides relative to the axis of the wiper arm, and a coupling rod which is connected by joints to each of the rocking levers and to the wiper arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 1985
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1987
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Wilfried Merkel, Erich Kolb
  • Patent number: 4559816
    Abstract: A displacement pickup for detecting positions of an adjusting device, in particular an adjusting device of fuel injection pumps. In an advantageous manner, an adjustment of the displacement pickup can be performed with the aid of a cylindrical tang, which is displaceable and fixable in a through bore in the wall of a housing receiving the adjusting device and through the interior of which an adjusting device of the displacement pickup can be adjusted from outside the housing. In a displacement pickup advantageously embodied as a rotary potentiometer, a contact means of a resistor (R.sub.a) of the resistance course of the potentiometer can thus be adjusted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1984
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1985
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Rolf Ebert, Peter Knorreck, Manfred Kramer, Wilfried Merkel